UNLV scientists isolate rare Death Valley magnetic bacteria

A University of Nevada, Las Vegas microbiologist says he and his team members have identified and cultivated a type of magnetic bacteria in Death Valley that could one day contribute to the biotech industry.

Researcher Dennis Bazylinski says that the bacteria navigate along magnetic field lines because of the mineral produced inside their cells. His team is the first to isolate a rarely-studied type that produces the mineral greigite and is found 280 feet below sea level in the valley's Badwater Basin.